Nail polish container

ABSTRACT

A container for nail care articles comprising: the lower container portion that includes a door and a rotating shelf unit mounted inside the lower container portion for rotating therein, the rotating shelf unit including at least one shelf, the at least one shelf being disposed within the lower container portion to support a plurality of articles including nail polish bottles; wherein by manually opening the door a user is enabled to manually rotate the rotating shelf unit thereby permitting easy access to the plurality of nail polish bottles from the rotating shelf unit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates in general to a container having arotating shelf. This invention relates more particularly to a containerfor holding articles related to nail care.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Nail care articles such as nail polish, nail polish remover,cotton swabs for removing nail polish and the like are commonly used,most often by women. Nail polish in particular is generally packaged insmaller bottles. Nail polish generally comes in a variety of colors andshades. Vendors of nail polish tend to carry multiple colors and shades.Users of nail polish also generally have multiple nail polish bottles.

[0003] Storage of multiple nail polish bottles in manner that providesready access to selected nail polish bottles is a problem. Users of nailpolish at home, for example, tend to store nail polish bottles incabinets or drawers. Trays for storing nail polish bottles have beendevised. Notwithstanding such trays, maintaining the various articlesused in nail care in an organized fashion can be difficult. In addition,where there is limited cabinet or drawer space a counter top containerfor nail polish care related articles is desirable.

[0004] A number of different nail polish display articles are known. Forexample,

[0005] There is a need for a container for nail polish care articlesincluding nail polish bottles that provides storage of multiple nailpolish bottles. There is a further need for a container for nail polishcare articles that stores nail polish care articles, preferably on acountertop. There is a further need for a container for nail polisharticles that is easy to manufacture and use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is one object of this invention to provide a container fornail care articles that provides efficient storage for articles.

[0007] It is a further object of this invention to provide a containerfor nail care articles having an upper container portion and lowercontainer portion including a rotating shelf assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] A detailed description of particular embodiments are providedherein below by way of example only and with reference to the followingdrawings, in which:

[0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container of the presentinvention showing representative nail care articles stored in thecontainer, in one embodiment thereof;

[0010]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the container of thepresent invention showing the various components thereof, in oneembodiment thereof;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the container of the presentinvention.

[0012] In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention areillustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that thedescription and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and asan aid to understanding, and are not intended as a definition of thelimits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container 10 of the presentinvention, in one particular embodiment thereof. The container 10consists generally of an upper container portion 12 and a lowercontainer portion 14.

[0014] The lower container portion 14 includes a rotating shelf assembly16 that receives a plurality of nail polish bottles 18. The lowercontainer portion 14 also includes a door 20 for accessing the contentsof the rotating shelf assembly 16. The rotating shelf assembly 16 isreceived by the lower container portion 14 such that it is adapted torotate about the longitudinal axis of the lower container portion 14, asillustrated in FIG. 1.

[0015] In the particular embodiment of the present invention, therotating shelf assembly 16 includes two shelves, namely a lower shelfand an upper shelf. The present invention also contemplates the use ofthree or more shelves, provided that space between any two adjacentshelves is sufficient to permit storage of nail care items such as nailpolish bottles. The present invention contemplates, for example, anembodiment where an uppermost shelf does not in fact provide enoughclearance to store nail polish bottles, but does provide enough space tostore nail clippers, scissors or the like.

[0016] It should be understood that the door 20 is preferably disposedsuch that it permits access to each of the shelves of the rotating shelfassembly 16.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the upper container portion 12 is suited forstoring nail care items such as cotton swabs (as particularlyillustrated in FIG. 1) or other items such as nail clippers, forexample.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the upper container portion 12 consistsgenerally of a receptacle 24 having a receptacle body defining aninterior for holding the referred to nail care items. The receptacledefines an interior circumference.

[0019] The embodiment of the upper container portion 12 illustratedfurther includes a cap 22. The cap is attached to the body of the uppercontainer portion as shown in FIG. 2 by means of a suitable attachment.In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the cap 22 isattached to the receptacle 24 using a flexible plastic web. The flexibleplastic web enable closure of the cap 22 over the interior of thereceptacle 24.

[0020] The cap 22 includes an annular wall 26. The annular wall 26 hasan outer circumference that is marginally larger than the interiorcircumference of the receptacle 24 whereby when the cap 22 is closedover the interior of the receptacle 24, the annular wall 26 frictionallyengages the interior wall of the receptacle 24. The outer circumferenceof the cap 22 is preferably marginally larger than the outercircumference of the receptacle 24 such that the resultant lip when thecap 22 is closed over the interior of the receptacle 24 permits the cap22 to be manually removed from the receptacle 24 thereby opening the topof the receptacle 24.

[0021] The container 10 described provides ready means for storing nailcare items, for example, on a countertop.

[0022] Another particular aspect of the present invention is a nail carekit that includes the container 10 of the present invention, and variousnail care items such as the nail polish bottles 18. These nail careitems may accompany the container 10 or already be stored in thecontainer 10.

[0023] A variety of different particular structures can provide therotating shelf assembly described above. A particular embodiment of thepresent invention is illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0024] The various components of the present invention may be made of avariety of suitable materials. The components illustrated in FIG. 2 canbe made of a plastic such as PVC or alternatively wood or metal. Theparticular components illustrated in FIG. 2 can be extruded, as may berequired. Modifications to the door 20 and cap 22, obvious to a personskilled in the art, may be required to fashion the container of thepresent invention in such alternate materials as wood or metal.

[0025] It should also be understood that the present invention is notlimited to a container 10 having specific dimensions. This is despitethe fact that the Figures illustrate the present invention in relationto nail polish bottles 18 which generally have a standard size. Again,vending embodiments of the present invention are also contemplatedwhereby a larger number of shelves and/or shelves with greater clearancebetween each other but having the rotating shelf assembly of the presentinvention are also contemplated.

[0026] Similarly, the dimensions of the container 10 are not part of thepresent invention.

[0027] The container 10 may be made of transparent or opaque material,as is desired.

[0028] The present invention also contemplates the branding of thecontainer 10 whether by applying labels or incorporating brandingelements in the components of the container 10 during manufacturing.

1) A container for nail care articles comprising: a) A lower containerportion that includes a door and a rotating shelf unit mounted insidethe lower container portion for rotating therein, the rotating shelfunit including at least one shelf, the at least one shelf being disposedwithin the lower container portion to support a plurality of articlesincluding nail polish bottles; Wherein by manually opening the door auser is enabled to manually rotate the rotating shelf unit therebypermitting easy access to the plurality of nail polish bottles from therotating shelf unit. 2) A container as claimed in claim 1, the containerfurther comprising: a) An upper container portion including a lid;Wherein the upper container portion is adapted to receive nail carearticles including nail files or cotton swabs. 3) A container as claimedin claim 2, wherein the upper container portion includes a receptaclehaving a top opening and a lid that is adapted to cover the top opening,and wherein the lid includes an opening disposed substantially centrallyalong a vertical axis thereof. 4) A container as claimed in claim 3,wherein: a) the rotating shelf unit includes a shaft member that isadapted to rest on the bottom wall of the lower container portion, androtate on the bottom wall; b) the lower container portion has a length,and the shaft member is longer than the length of the lower containerportion; and c) the shaft member includes a connecting portion adjacentto the top of the shaft member, wherein the threaded portion is sized tofit through the top opening of the lid when the lid covers the topopening. 5) A container as claimed in claim 4, wherein the uppercontainer portion includes a connecting portion disposed adjacent to thebottom of the upper container portion, wherein the connecting portion ofthe upper container portion corresponds to the connecting portion of theshaft member such that the upper container portion is mountable on theshaft member, thereby enabling the rotating shelf unit to be manuallyrotated by manually rotating the upper container portion. 6) A containeras claimed in claim 5, wherein rotating shelf unit includes two shelvesmounted on the staff member and adapted to rotate inside the lowercontainer portion. 7) The container as claimed in claim 6, wherein thebottom wall of the lower container portion also includes a guide memberthat is adapted to retain the bottom of the shaft member in a rotatingposition on the bottom wall.